Connecting plate for rail joints



Feb 10. l 925. 1,526,250

s. soRl-:NSEN

CONNECTING PLATE FOR RAIL JOINTS Filed April 1l, 1924 4 Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

SAM. SORENSEN, 0F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

CONNECTING- PLATE FOR RAIL JOINTS.

Application filed April 11, 1924.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be. it known that I, SAM SoRuNsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Houston, Texas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Connecting Plates for Rail Joints, of which thel following is a specification.

My invention relates tothe construction of' plates for connecting and bracing the oints of railson railway tracks.

ln the laying of rails in. the construction of railways, it. is common to connect adjacent rails by fish plates secured to the rail ends by bolts extending through the said plates and rails. Such bolts are liable to longitudinal stretching and distortion due to the strain of trafiic and the rails may be thus loosened to such an extent as to be unsafe.

It is an object of the invention to provide means to connect the ends of the rails iii such manner as to' talco the strain from the bolts, thus preventing their becoming loos cned. This is doiiebyabase plate formed to cooperate with the fish plates connecting the rails so as to hold the said iish plates clamped to the rails.

It is also desired to construct a device of this character which is easily applied and economical to construct.

In the drawings herewith l have shown av preferred form of' my invention, in which Fig. l shows a top plan view of the invention applied to two rail ends. Fig. 2 is a. side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a trans verse section on the plane 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a similar view on the plane e-t of Fig. 2. Like numerals of reference are applied to like parts in all the views.

The fish plates B, 3, employed in connect ing the ends of rails l together, are Inade'in the form of a heavy angle iron as customary. The upright portion 3 of the plate fits beneath the lower side of the rail top, while the lower horizontal portion 4 rest-s upon the base 5 of the rail. Said base portion is extended beyond the rail base at spaced points forming lugs or tongues 6, perforated to receive cap screws '7.

The tongues 6 are adapted to fit wit-hin notches or recesses 8 in a base plate 9 upon which the rail rests. The said plate is of the same length as the fish plates. lt has Serial No. 705,769.

' a central longitudinal seat l() for the rail base with lateral upstaiiding flanges 1l, l1 at each side fitting the rail base closely to prevent lateral displacement of' the railsv rlhe flanges li, il are formed with recesses 8, as previously described, to receive the cooperating tongues 6 on the fish plates.`

The inner upper sides of the ianges l1, ll are beveled slightly at 12 to allow a wedgng fit with the fish plates. The tongues 6 and the recesses in which they fit are also tapered in width outwardly for ease in assembly and for the better fitting of the parts to prevent relative movement.

The fish plates are secured to the rail ends by bolts 13 in the usual manner. The cap screws 7, by means of which` the iish plate is secured to the base plate, are of sufficient length to extend part way through the base plate, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the plates are adapted to fit the rail closely and that the fish plates also interfit tightly with the base plate. In this manner the plates form a rigid support allowing no perceptible play between the parts and preventing lateral or vertical displacement. There is, therefore, no heavy strain or pull upon the tie bolts 13 as is customary.

The combination of the base plate with the fish plates is particularly strong and rigid. The attachment is easily and conveniently made and at a reasonable cost. Further objects and advantages will be clear to one skilled in the art without further description.

l/Vhat I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a device of the character described, a rail base plate shaped to receive the rails, sli plates, tongues on said fish plates fitting within recesses in said base plate and cap screws extending through said tongues into said base plate.

2. VIn a device of the character described, a rail base plate to support the rail ends, lateral flanges on the sides of said seat said sides beveled to converge downwardly and having spaced notches cut therein, fish plates, tongues on said fish plates fitting in.l

said notches, and screws securing said fish plates within said. tapered seat at. the sides of said rail.

3. In a device of the character described, clamped between t-he top and base of the rail a rail base plate to supportthe adjacent and means to secure said ish plates to said rail ends, lateral flanges on said. plate at each base plate at the side of the rail. 1U Side of the rails, the inner faces thereof oon- In testimony whereof I hereunto afl'llx my 5 vervinfr doWnWardl and havino Saaced Sio'nature this 8th da f of A Jril, A. D. 1924.

o c y a l :D l

note-hes there-in, sh plates having lugs {itting in said notches, and shaped to be 'u' SAM SORENSEN. 

